Clean Air - the right to breathe

Antwerp, Belgium

Message

This InsideOut people's art campaign is asking for clean air in Flanders, Belgium.

THE FACTS:
*Flanders had the worst air quality in the whole of Europe.
*A person living in Belgium has approximately 1 year cut off his or her life because of the air pollution, a person from Antwerp almost 2 years.
*Brussels and Antwerp are the two most congested cities IN THE WORLD - Los Angeles is number 3.
*Belgians use their cars more than any other European, and the amount of cars on the road keeps growing.
*The cost of sickness caused by air pollution is 5 billion euros per year. Medical costs are scientifically calculated to be 2,8 billion euros per year.
*The rise in amount and severeness of asthma is accelerating and more and more kids need inhalers to be able to breathe.
*Not only the lungs, but also the heart and the blood vessels are affected.
*67% of the local population worries about the air quality and thinks the government isn't taking the necessary steps.
*The European Commission named the year 2013 as the Year Of Clean Air. We are now 2014, and the air quality is still getting worse.

OUR MESSAGE
Participants want to point out the need for regulating policies.
They are asking the political parties to make their position on the subject known by the next elections - so they know who to vote for.